Script guide › Cyrillic
Kazakh vs Russian
Kazakh and Russian sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Cyrillic group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.
The tell
Kazakh text bristles with қ, ң, ә and і; pure Russian has no barred or hooked letters.
Side by side
Kazakh
Барлық адамдар еркін және қадір-қасиеті тең болып туады.
Сәлеметсіз бе, қалыңыз қалай?
Еңбек түбі — береке.
Kazakh's own tells
- The most extra letters of any Cyrillic — қ, ң, ә, і and more. Bars and hooks everywhere.
On signs in:
- Kazakhstan
Russian
Все люди рождаются свободными и равными.
Здравствуйте! Это Москва — столица России.
Старый друг лучше новых двух.
Russian's own tells
- Has ы and э (plus rarer ъ, ё); uses и but never the dotted і.
- The 'default' Cyrillic — no extra bars, hooks or accents.
On signs in:
- Russia
- Belarus
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan